{"id":4667,"date":"2015-08-26T01:12:36","date_gmt":"2015-08-25T18:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/checkconnect.net\/blog\/?p=4667"},"modified":"2016-06-12T09:54:18","modified_gmt":"2016-06-12T02:54:18","slug":"mccullough-gulch-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/checkconnect.net\/blog\/mccullough-gulch-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"McCullough Gulch 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"
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View from the trailhead of McCullough Gulch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We decided to hike McCullough Gulch again, but this time with different company: Thomas’ Mom. \u00a0Last year we hiked McCullough Gulch on a trip for Allyson’s birthday and the trip report can be found here:\u00a0McCullough Gulch 2014<\/a>. \u00a0This year’s hike brought new adventures and excitement.<\/p>\n

The hike itself is roughly 2.7 miles RT to the Blue Reservoir, but it can be longer or shorter depending on what you want to do. \u00a0At the trailhead the trek begins at roughly 11,102 ft and at the lake the elevation is approximately 11,936 ft, all according to our Garmin GPS, for a net elevation gain of about 834 ft. \u00a0It is a short and easy hike relative to it’s neighboring hike of Quandary Peak, which looms next door for the entire jaunt of McCullough Gulch; but is still above 11,000 ft and there are some rocky and steep areas making it not a walk in the park.<\/p>\n

The hike begins with an 18-20% grade up an old mining trail. \u00a0There are views along the beginning to be had if you are looking to take your time, which we were. \u00a0After passing an abandoned mining area there is a natural scenic overlook formed by an outcropping of large boulders. \u00a0We stopped here for a photo-op and to enjoy the scenery. \u00a0Below are some of the images from the scenic overlook and the initial start of the hike.<\/p>\n

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The hike continues to rise until about 2\/3 of a mile and then flattens out a bit as the trail narrows through pine trees. \u00a0Mom started to notice that outer-sole of one of her boots was coming off, which was not ideal. \u00a0Her boots were a bit old according to her, perhaps 18 years old. \u00a0Eventually, the outer-sole of the boot did come off completely, and she walked more than half of the hike on the mid-sole of the boot. \u00a0Lesson learned: \u00a0check your equipment before you hike! \u00a0Below are some pictures of the flat section and of her boots.<\/p>\n

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After going up for a little while you reach a small talus field, which has a nice, clear path leading through it. \u00a0Just after this is a small single beam bridge over a creek (pictured above bottom left), and just after this bridge you reach a crossroads. \u00a0You can either continue making your way up to the Reservoir by veering to the right, or take a small detour loop to the White Falls by aiming to the left. \u00a0We wanted to see the Falls — because they are really very majestic — and so we took the quick detour. \u00a0Some pictures of the Falls are below.<\/p>\n

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The Falls trail loops back around rejoins the McCullough Gulch Trail shortly after the falls and the trail begins to steeply rise again towards the Reservoir. \u00a0There is only about a third of a mile from this point to the Reservoir. \u00a0Along the way you can see Quandary Peak looming to the left along with an array of gorgeous wildflowers. \u00a0The rock can be a little loose and it is important to watch your footing here, especially if you aren’t a regular hiker; but the goal is just around the corner. \u00a0Mom was having some trouble here on some of the rocky parts due to her outer-sole coming off and having very little grip on her left foot. \u00a0This tells us that having shoes with good grip, either trail running shoes or hiking boots, are nice to have for this hike. \u00a0Below are some pictures from this portion of the journey.<\/p>\n

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After one last push up a rocky portion of the hike the view of the Reservoir appears and you have made it. \u00a0As you approach the lake there are at least three options to be had, not all exclusive to one another. \u00a0There is an option to take a left turn and hike across the outflow of the Reservoir, a small creek pictured below, and onto a hill on the Quandary side of the Reservoir. \u00a0This area gives great views of the Reservoir and is often inhabited with mountain goats. \u00a0In fact, the day we went there was a herd of mountain goats on the hill with a baby mountain goat in tow. \u00a0It was really awesome to see the mountain goats, and especially the kid.<\/p>\n

Mountain goats are typically not aggressive to humans, but there have been attacks on humans and at least one fatality. \u00a0See this article from Backpacker.com<\/a>\u00a0about a man who was gored by a mountain goat in Olympic National Park. \u00a0Even so, it is never wise to approach wild animals and it is illegal to feed any wild animals. \u00a0It is in everyone’s best interest — hikers and animals — to keep a safe distance from wild animals. \u00a0Below are some pictures of Blue Reservoir and the mountain goats (for reference I used 200mm lens and cropped the resulting images for the mountain goat shots).<\/p>\n

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The hill also lends itself to taking a nice panorama of the cirque and Reservoir, which we did! \u00a0Mom stayed on a rock and had a nice time refueling and enjoying the scenery while we explored the area. \u00a0In fact, if you click on the image below, and zoom on the large rock on the right side of the Reservoir you can see a person wearing a black jacket, that is Mom! \u00a0What is also nice about the image below is that you can see the path leading up to that large rock. \u00a0If you so desire, you can keep following that path past the Reservoir and towards a group of three lakes higher up (the path is visible from Google Maps). \u00a0If you choose to explore these upper lakes, be aware that it turns this hike into a 6 mile RT hike from a 2.7 mile RT hike. \u00a0As far as I know these upper lakes are not officially named.<\/p>\n

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The hike back down was pleasant, but the mosquitoes were out and that kept us moving. \u00a0We would recommend bringing spray to keep the bugs at bay. \u00a0This is a very nice hike, especially for beginners, and can be used as a trail run, which Thomas did the following day. \u00a0It is a very versatile trail, and you can spend well under an hour running the trail to a half day exploring and taking pictures; to top it all off it is next to the very friendly town of Breckenridge, where we spent the remainder of our excursion.<\/p>\n

Photography and writing by Thomas Checkley<\/em><\/p>\n

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